“Our opponents are very tough, but we had to be brave and face them. This is part of the kendo spirit,” said HE Fan, president of ZJU’s kendo club after his team won the second prize in the team competition in the Sixth Kobayashi Cup.

Every year, university students from China and Japan come to Hangzhou for the Kobayashi Cup, an annual competition held by Hangzhou Kendo Club. This year, the competition is held during December 22-23. The first prize winner of team competition is led by ZJU’s graduate XIA Feihuang. XIA was in fact the first president of ZJU’s kendo club, and has been studying kendo since college. Now the former teammate becomes opponents. Though beaten by them, ZJU’s team played with respect and courage.

ZJU’s kendo club was founded in 2015 and has attracted more than 200 members over time. Training session is held twice a week, and sometimes lectures are given.

Writer: ZHOU Nan

Photo: ZHOU Nan